“More a promise.”
“Whose?” But I already knew who pledged Ryker to secrecy. Fucking Jackson. “Well, thanks for that. Thank you for letting me know you feel it too, but I shouldn’t change my plans for the evening because you have a precious little promise to keep. Good to know.”
I moved around him and walked out. He didn’t try to stop me. I called Jason and canceled the evening because being out with one man while fantasizing about another was wrong. What the hell was Jackson hiding? I knew just the person to ask.
Chapter Four
It had been two days and I was still fuming about Ryker and his stupid little promise. Passing the iconic red barn on my way into town, I detoured a little and drove past my house. Ever since I was a kid, I had dreamed of owning it. I was a bit like a young Natalie Wood in Miracle on 34th Street. The small Cape Cod with red shutters, cedar shakes and a picket fence. In truth, the full dream was Ryker and me in that house, little kids running around the yard. In high school, I often walked past it, sometimes I brought Ryker but he never knew my thoughts, the wish I had made on more than one star. The house never went on the market though. It was just as well because it wasn’t really the dream having only part of it.
Sabrina was already at the café when I arrived. If anyone could shed some light on the events of that ill-fated evening, it would be Sabrina. We’d kept in touch even after she and Jackson split. She was seeing someone now, a doctor. Things were going good. She stood when she saw me, a smiling splitting over her face.
“Hey Rayne. It’s so good to see you.”
“And you. You’re glowing.”
She grinned then held up her hand and the diamond that rested on her third finger.
“Oh my God. Congratulations. When did he ask?”
“Last week.”
“I’m so happy for you.”
She gestured to the chair across from her. “So, what’s new with you?”
“Nothing really, but I did want to ask you something.”
“Okay.”
“The night of the accident. What happened between you and Jackson?”
She looked uncomfortable; enough that she couldn’t keep eye contact. “It was so stupid.”
“What happened?”
“I saw you with Ryker. Well, I didn’t see you, but I saw him coming from the closet. He looked…I’ve never seen him look like that. He left you and went right to the bar. He grabbed a bottle of whiskey and headed to the pool. I thought he’d made his move and you’d turned him down.”
“Wait a minute. Rewind. You thought he made his move on me?”
“Well, yeah. It was so obvious he was into you. And I thought you had shot him down. I had only intended to offer him a shoulder, but…”
I felt sick. “You and Ryker?”
“Me. I liked him, I had always liked him.”
“But you were with Jackson.”
“Not until later. It was Ryker who drew me to your little group. Later I grew to love Jackson, but seeing Ryker looking so unsure and for a man like that, it’s as close to vulnerable as he’ll ever get. My hug turned into something else, at least for me. I kissed him. He didn’t kiss me back and then Jackson appeared. He had a ring, Rayne. He intended to ask me to marry him at the stroke of midnight.”
I felt a little of what Jackson had to have felt walking in on that scene. My stomach pitched as tears burned my eyes. No wonder he didn’t let himself feel much now. After that, I couldn’t blame him. But why would he keep that from me?
“Had I known it would have snowballed. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve replayed it in my head. How if I hadn’t gone to Ryker, didn’t follow him. I’m so, so sorry Rayne.”
“I think it’s Jackson you owe the apology to.”
“But they were your parents too. Had I known he would get behind the wheel, I wouldn’t have let him leave.”
My whole world spun as bile rushed up my throat. “Are you saying Jackson was the one driving the car when my parents died?”
“Yes. You didn’t know?”
“No, I didn’t.”
Chapter Five
I wasn’t drunk, but I was numb. I had come back from my chat with Sabrina, grabbed a bottle of vodka and disappeared into my office. What they say about secrets and the wicked web we weaved keeping them was so true. Ryker left me that night to drink himself stupid, Sabrina found him and acted on her secret feelings for him only to be discovered by Jackson who intended to propose and a devastated Jackson climbed behind the wheel of a car with my parents and ended up in an accident. It’s horrible, all of it. But I knew enough about the accident to know it didn’t matter who was driving. The ice along that stretch of road was treacherous. There had been several accidents that night, but only one that had fatalities.
I tried calling Jackson earlier, needed him to know I knew his secret and didn’t blame him, but he wasn’t answering. He was probably out with one of his mindless hookups. The only part of it all that I didn’t understand was Ryker. What did Jackson make him swear to that he now kept his distance from me? Since I felt about ten feet tall and bulletproof from drinking my own liquid courage, I went in search of Ryker to demand an answer. He was working the bar. He didn’t do it often, but when they got busy, he chipped in. He looked good behind the bar. Hell, he looked good everywhere. He tracked my approach; almost as soon as I stepped from my office, I felt his eyes on me. I always thought he watched out of wariness, but now I wondered if he didn’t watch me for the same reason I watched him. There was no room in front of the bar, it was packed shoulder-to-shoulder, so I walked behind it.
“Rayne. Are you okay?”
“I want to talk to you.”
He stopped mixing the drink and studied me. “You’ve been drinking.”
“A little.”
He grabbed a glass and filled it with water. “Drink this or you’ll have a headache in the morning.”
It was true; if I drank alcohol and didn’t drink the same amount in water, I had a raging headache the next day. And the fact that he knew that, when not even Jackson knew that, only made me more determined to learn what it was that kept him from me.
“Kitty, do you have this?” he asked but he was already on the move, catching my hand to pull me somewhere so we could talk. In his office, he shut the door then leaned against it.
“I know about Jackson and Sabrina. I know she kissed you that night.”
“Did Jackson tell you?”
“Sabrina. She said you didn’t kiss her back, but Jackson saw her. He was proposing. Did you know Jackson was going to propose?”
“Yeah.”
“The accident wasn’t his fault.”
“I know. I’ve told him that often enough.”
“Why didn’t the cops ever mention that he had been the one driving?”
“I asked them not to.”
“Why?”
“Your parents had just died, Jackson came close, and you knowing the specifics wouldn’t have changed anything.”
“You thought I’d blame him.”
“You wouldn’t have been out of line if you did. Why add that to what was already fucking awful?”
“I need to talk to him. Do you know where he is?”
“Off with one of his hook ups.”
“What I don’t know is your secret. And I know you well enough to know you’re a very honorable man. Whatever your reason, you’re doing what you’re doing because you gave your word. I get that. But what you might not know, what I think you need to, is that I’m in love with you. I’ve been in love with you since I was sixteen years old. And I’m old enough to know what I feel isn’t just lust or desire, those are there and in spades, but they pale in comparison to the warmth that burns through me every time I see you. Every time those eyes look at me, or you gift me with one of your smiles. I love you. So you keeping your distance, especially now that I know you feel something too, it hurts.”
He didn’t move. He was so still he reminded me of
a snake getting ready to strike and then he did, his hand whipped out as he grabbed my arm. He pulled me close as his mouth slammed down on mine. His tongue pushed into my mouth, almost brutally, tasting me with a thoroughness that left me weak. His strong fingers curled into my hair, holding my head still for his assault and it was an assault—one that I happily surrendered to. My breasts were pressed against his chest as his cock dug into my stomach. My clit spasmed as need clawed at me, turning me wild, my hands grabbing for any part of him I could reach. He pushed me up against the door, dropped to his knees and yanked my jeans and panties down my legs. And when his mouth claimed me, my eyes rolled into the back of my head. I pulled my fingers through his hair, partly to keep him doing what he was doing and partly for balance. He ate me like I was his favorite meal, building up the pleasure until I couldn’t take any more. He sucked on my clit as he pushed two fingers into me and I went tumbling over the side, swept up in the best orgasm of my life.
He stood, fisting my shirt and pulling it over my head. Yanking my bra down, he teased my nipples, rolling them between his fingers, pinching and all the while his eyes were on mine, watching what his touch was doing to me. Reaching for his shirt, I yanked it off. He was perfection; those tats, his muscled chest and abs, and I touched him in possession because this was mine; this had always been mine. And then I learned his body all over again, but this time with my tongue.
He jerked my bra off; I tugged his jeans down his legs. My hands following the denim and when I reached for the waistband of his boxer briefs, I swear it felt like Christmas morning. Moisture pooled between my legs at the sight of him—so thick and hard, but silky smooth in my palm. I wanted to take him into my mouth, wanted to make him lose control like he had done with me, but Ryker had other plans.
He pressed me against the wall, grabbed my one leg and wrapped it around his waist just as he thrust, pushing his cock into me in one, long hard stroke.
“Oh God, yes.”
He moved hard and fast, his focus on where we were linked. The fingers digging into my leg were almost painful. This wasn’t love making, it was fucking, but it was like a worshipping too. And it felt incredible. He pulled from me and hooked an arm around my waist, turned us and with one hand sent everything on his desk flying to the floor. My back hit his desk, his hands curled around my breasts, his mouth following his hands. My legs found their way around his waist, pulling him closer and when he slid back into me, he did so slowly and methodically. He was beautiful, every part of him—his face, his hands, his body, his tats. He built up the pleasure, taking as much as he was giving, and when the orgasm moved through me, it was the best I’d ever had, the best I would ever have. His thrusts became less controlled, his looming orgasm snapping his discipline as he used my body to find his own release and when he had, his large body stilled as pleasure moved over his face. His head lifted, those eyes looking right into mine.
“My place. Now.”
That was an order I had no problem following.
Chapter Six
I stood in the kitchen waiting for the coffee. Ryker was in the shower. We hadn’t slept at all, had spent the night learning everything there was to learn about each other’s bodies. In between mind-blowing orgasms, we chatted and for someone I thought I knew everything about, there was still more I had yet to learn. The least of which was his super power of giving orgasms, the five he gave me last night could attest to that.
He stepped into the kitchen with just a towel hanging loose around his waist. The man was not at all shy about his nakedness. He’d whipped us up some sandwiches last night and did so without a stitch of clothing on. I wasn’t complaining; I enjoyed every second of the show.
“Something is wrong with this picture.”
Not from where I stood. “What do you mean?” I asked.
“You’re not in bed, naked.”
And even feeling so very sated, my body throbbed at the idea of round two. “I needed caffeine.”
“Later.”
He didn’t wait for my agreement before he put me over his shoulder and carried me back to the bedroom.
***
It was late; my body was sore in all the right places. My back to his chest; his strong arms were wrapped tightly around me.
“We need to do this more often.”
I knew he heard me, his arms tightened a bit in response, but he didn’t speak. He’d been kind of quiet for the past hour.
Turning into him, I lifted my head, he dipped his chin. God he was beautiful, but it was what I saw brewing in those eyes that had me asking, “Are you okay?”
“You were wearing a pink dress with a white flower. Your hair was down and you were spinning around in circles. You stopped spinning and your face crumbled when you saw Jackson getting hit. You were so bright, so happy…I fucking felt it from across the playground. And then you weren’t, it was like someone turned off your fucking light. I wanted to see you bright and happy again. I stepped in that day for you.”
To what he was admitting, I couldn’t form a reply. My eyes burned and my chest ached but not in a bad way, in a way I could grow used to feeling. I couldn’t find the words, so I kissed him. Chaste at first, but then he opened his mouth and I slid my tongue in. I climbed onto him, my body coming down on his as his hands moved down my back to my ass, rubbing me against him. I wanted to feast, my mouth pulling from his as I ran my tongue down his neck and over his shoulder. Slowly I slid down his body, tasting every inch of him. I reached his abs, my fingers moving along those muscles before my tongue followed. Reaching for his cock, I looked up at him through my lashes and kissed the tip. His hips twitched, his hands fisted the sheets at his sides. I played, licking and squeezing, fisting him and running my hand up his shaft, twisting a bit at the top. His hips jerked, but it was the growls coming from deep in his throat that were my undoing. I took him into my mouth, pulled him in deep and sucked hard. And feeling him coming apart ignited a hunger in me—the need to taste him, to have him come in my mouth. With each bob of my head, I took him deeper and relished in watching as his control slipped.
And then I was being jerked around; Ryker’s strong hands on my waist moved me until I straddled his face. His fingers dug into my ass as he breathed me in.
“You smell so fucking good.” And then he was pulling me down onto his tongue and I pressed even deeper, loving the feel of his tongue inside me. We found a rhythm as I fucked his face and he fucked mine. When his cocked twitched and his saltiness filled my mouth, he pushed his tongue in even deeper, sending me right over the edge. And after, we didn’t move; he wouldn’t let me. His tongue continued to move through my folds, tasting. I was just as bad, licking off the last of his taste. And then he playfully slapped my ass “Shower.” But he was already wrapping an arm around my waist and pulling me out of bed.
***
I couldn’t sleep, my body was exhausted, but my mind was still on Ryker’s words from earlier. It was, hands down, the greatest declaration of love ever. I traced the designs on his arms. The swirls and colors. And that’s when I saw the white flower, surrounded by pink amongst the other images on his arm. My eyes jerked to his, he was already watching me.
“It was the first one I had done.”
“I never saw it.”
“You were away in college.”
“But when I was home, you never mentioned it.”
“Wanting something and being good enough are two very different things.”
Anger whipped through me hearing him say that. Where the hell had that come from? “If you’re suggesting you’re not good enough.”
“I never thought I wasn’t good enough.”
“What changed?”
He didn’t answer that question, but he did say, “Things are going to be different now.”
“I hope so.”
He didn’t elaborate, but rolled to pin me under him. It was all the explanation I needed.
Chapter Seven
I understood now the expression wa
lking on a cloud because I was. After forty-eight hours in bed with Ryker, I could die now and do so happily. We played hooky; I don’t think Ryker has ever played hooky, he loved Ménage too much to do that, but he did so for me. He left earlier to check in, but it was how he left, practically dragging his feet that pulled a smile every time I thought of it. I needed to talk to Jackson. I had called him earlier and he was home, so here I was making my way up to his third floor condo. I had to buzz his room at the front door, so he stood in the hall waiting for me.
“I love you, sis, but this is too early for a house call.”
“We need to talk.”
“It sounds serious.”
“It is.” I stopped in front of him, lifted up on my toes and kissed his cheek.
Surprise moved over his face, a slight grin curving his lips. “Totally serious.”
We settled in his little kitchen, he poured us coffee then said, “So spill.”
“I know, Jackson. I had a visit with Sabrina.”
His face paled, the hand holding his mug shook.
“Why did you keep that from me?”
“I killed them.” His voice broke as tears slid down his cheeks.
“You didn’t.”
“I was pissed, so fucking angry. Dad wanted to drive. I took the keys. I shouldn’t have been driving so fast, I knew the road was icy.”
“It isn’t your fault.”
He slammed his mug down on the table so hard hot coffee sloshed over the sides. “Damn it, it was my fault. Had Dad been driving, he’d have gone much slower.”
“That’s not true.”
“How the hell do you know?”
“Because Dad hydroplaned and slid out all the time.”
“No he didn’t.”
“Jackson, I drove with him more than you did. I lived in their house years after you moved out. Had he been driving, the same thing would have happened.”
“I appreciate you saying that. I don’t know that I believe it, but I do appreciate the effort.”
Revealed: A Hype PR and Eye Candy Bookstore Anthology Page 16
